Posted By:
Peter_SpaethHere is what I think the best plaintiff's case would be IF certain facts were proven, and as I sit here I of course have no idea what Brian did and didn't do. Anyhow, here is the best case scenario as I see it. I, the plaintiff, did not rely on Brian to conclude the card was in fact unique. However, based on what Brian said about the extent of his due diligence, it certainly in my mind made the chances that it was unique a lot stronger, so I was willing to pay a lot more for it. That was reasonable, as Brian has a lot more expertise than I do and claimed he had done thorough research into the matter. In fact, although Brian represented that his due dilgence was extensive, it wasn't -- he didn't do x y and z which a responsible dealer would have done before making the claims he did. Therefore, while I have no reason to believe Brian KNEW there was another T5 out there, he had no business suggesting there wasn't -- in other words, he made the representation negligently, with no reasonable basis for doing so. As a result, I overpaid by x, and want part of my money back -- or I want to rescind the deal altogether.
EDITED TO ADD: Leon, you don't necessarily need fraud, a claim can be brought based on NEGLIGENT misrepresentation, where the seller makes a statement without a reasonable basis for knowing whether or not it is true.